Check out the new look of libraries

Britainâs terminally dull libraries are looking more like Heathrowâs Terminal 5 courtesy of a nationwide transformation.

Silence is olden: The 21st-century library does away with stuffy rules and encourages community interaction and â gasp! â talking (Picture: Getty)

The only time Iâve ever found a library fun was in the opening scene of Ghostbusters. Sadly, my local had a distinct lack of symmetrical book stacking, a filing system covered in ectoplasmic slime or a full torso apparition floating in the junior fiction section.

Fast-forward to today and the modern image couldnât be more different, with computerised self-service checkouts, coffee shops, Sunday opening and areas where conversation is actively encouraged all on the agenda.

The buildings are bright, attractive and airy. Some even stage music events, including gigs by big-name bands. You can borrow computer games, thereâs free internet access and special materials linked to the national curriculum to help children with homework.

This oasis of culture and learning sounds fabulous, so why has the number of people using libraries in Britain dropped so dramatically?

In 1993 visits per year stood at around 340million. They bottomed out at around 270million in 2002 then began to rise again. A peak of 290million in 2006 now looks like a one-off and the trend has again been downward since then.

Last year less than 40 per cent of adults visited a library. Curiously, the question of why is not addressed in a new government report published last month, though the first of its six key aims is to reverse the trend.

Writing the introduction to The Modernisation Review of Public Libraries, culture minister Margaret Hodge plots a forward path, suggesting: âPublic libraries are not about sitting back and passively waiting for people to borrow your books. They are about active engagement with the community, making links to other public services and responding to the policy imperatives of the day. Where that happens, there is evidence of their transformative impact.â

Look no further than Swindon. The Wiltshire townâs new Central Library (below right) opened in October 2008, replacing temporary buildings that had housed the facility for 40 years. It now has 77,000 books â 10,000 more than previously â and 60 free-to-use computers spread over three floors.

Itâs open 24 hours longer per week than before, including four hours on a Sunday. The result is a 70 per cent increase in items borrowed and a 57 per cent increase in visitors per month.

The governmentâs new strategy document is designed to provide a blueprint for how Britainâs 3,500 libraries should operate in the 21st century. How much of it will still be a priority after May 6 is debatable; culture and leisure budgets historically bear the brunt of spending cuts in times of economic hardship and there will be no magic wand waved whoever wins the general election.

The review acknowledges the wide variety of services offered at the nationâs libraries and proposes a list of core provisions all of them should offer. These include no lower age limit for membership, free access to the internet and e-books â just 14 of 151 local authorities have libraries offering that facility â plus links to other public services including health, education and employment opportunities. There should also be more flexible opening hours and 24-hour remote online access to the libraryâs stock catalogue.

âItâs all about making libraries work for as broad a cross-section of the population as possible,â adds Jordan. âThey should have something for everyone.â

Interestingly, the report makes clear that many libraries are providing much, if not all, of this already, yet public participation has still been in decline.

Addressing that in part is the recommendation that library bosses need to better communicate whatâs on offer. In short, the job is as much about marketing the service as the service itself.

But not everyone is embracing this new world order. West Sussex county council recently announced plans to reduce library opening hours to save Â£200,000 and faced anger from locals who said the cuts werenât deep enough because libraries had become redundant in the internet age.Last year Wirral Council came close to shutting 11 libraries with plans to invest Â£13million elsewhere. They were only halted after then culture secretary Andy Burnham ordered an inquiry and the plans were dropped.